8/25/2011
Here's a video of the performance:
I am so excited to share with you that I have an opportunity to contribute to the festivities this week celebrating the unveiling of the new MLK Memorial on the National Mall. At 5:45 p.m. this Thursday I will be singing an original tribute to MLK by Phil Morrison and Ron Zack at the DC Convention Center Exhibit Hall Stage, Exhibit Hall A. I also plan to sing "Rose of Love," a song I wrote based on two quotations from the Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah. It is such a special honor to be a part of these events, even for only a few minutes, and I am thrilled to have been invited to sing this beautiful song. I hope that you will be able to come and share this historic moment with me. 8/25/2011 Here's a video of the performance:
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I can't wait to see my Atlanta peeps! I'll be in town August 13-18. Check my "shows" page for info on where I'll be playing. There may be more shows coming! Go to my contact page if you want to get in touch with me directly about my visit.
I've been in the studio working on my second album, and I'm jazzed to share some of the new material with you! The other day I was talking with a friend who is in recovery from drug addiction. In the course of the conversation, he mentioned all kinds of things that had happened to his family and friends, like his sister getting pushed out of a window to her death, and his friends being shot in drug-related skirmishes. And I thought, so many people don't even know who they really are. Baha'u'llah tells us that each and every one of us was created noble. What if we all got that as a fact of life? Really got it? What would we do with our lives if we were truly conscious of our innate nobility? How would your life be different if you got that about yourself?
Through his recovery process and his study of the Baha'i Faith, my friend is gradually coming to know who he really is and what he is capable of in this life. My prayer and my work is for more and more people in the world to see this in themselves and act on it. How are you working to help others to see their own nobility and their capacity? ~ Here's a song sketch that came out of these ruminations. amnesia i found my sister in an old apartment lying on the floor beaten to the core i said sister, do you remember me? do you even remember you? don't you know you're the daughter of a king? why are you here? are you listening? you're the daughter of a king. i found my brother in an old apartment brandishing his fist how did it come to this? i said brother, do you remember me? do you even remember you? don't you know your father is a king? why are you here? are you listening? your father is a king. beloved sister, beloved brother, here's a message from our father it says, "noble have I created thee noble have I created thee ...yet thou has abased thyself." He wants you to "rise then unto that for which thou wast created." you don't even know who you are you were created noble you've got to know who you are you are noble, noble a princess would never put up with this a prince would never raise his fist you've got amnesia you're noble, noble Baha'is just concluded a 19-day period of fasting from sunrise to sunset. For me, every year brings a special gift or instructive test. This year my gift has been pure joy. As I was reflecting on why I should receive such a sweet gift, I realized that today is my 15th Baha'i birthday. :-) My Baha'i friends, what has been your gift from the Fast this year?
jotting down a few more ideas for this song - will still need reworking, particularly for meter
my past came knocking with a ridiculous joke oh, God if You're laughing with me i should be laughing too God, why are you taunting me? God, are you mocking me? Rumi says, "Don't grieve. Anything you lose comes round In another form." i wish i knew what that form could be. that's the maddening part for me. oh, God if You're laughing with me i should be laughing too if in every test there's a gift i can't wait to unwrap this what on earth could it be? don't keep it veiled to me until then it's let go and love let go and love let go...and love nothing else to do but let go and love oh God, if You're laughing with me let me laugh with You desire is a fire desire is a fire let me sink in that deep healing sleep oh come, my Beloved, and hold me i lost the melody & the musical feel when i went downstairs to get a pen and got distracted. so it doesn't make sense musically at this point. but this is what i came up with as a start. will need serious re-working.
my past came knocking with a ridiculous joke oh, God if You're laughing with me i should be laughing too they say in every test there's a gift i can't wait to unwrap this one what on earth could it be? this birthday has been a long time coming until then it's let go and love let go and love let go...and love nothing else to do but let go and love oh God, if You're laughing with me let me laugh with You desire is a fire desire is a fire let me sink in that deep healing sleep oh come, my Beloved, and hold me allright, you guys. the cutest thing ever happened to me yesterday.
so on january 4 when i was coming back from a week and a half recording in dallas with andy sperandeo, i was in the dallas airport listening to the rough mixes on my phone (and no, i am still in the stone ages and don't have an iphone, but my phone does have a perfectly good mp3 player in it). i was traveling with my monstrous larrivee acoustic guitar (pictured in the banner of this site), and this sweet "old" lady asked if i was going to give them a concert. well, i didn't give them a concert, but i went over to her and put my headphones in her ears so she could listen. my new song "cornerstone" was on--it's kind of folk-y and country, so i thought she might like it. she really enjoyed it. i told her i was returning home from a week and a half recording and gave her my card with my website & phone number on it. so yesterday she called me. i didn't pick up, and she left me the cutest voice mail message asking how i was doing, and if my song had gotten any play. she left me her phone number and her mailing address in imperial, nebraska so i can send her news. i guess she thinks i am a big pop star or something. well to my mom and a few of my fans i am, but i am happy for now just being a local girl with a small but very loving and dedicated following around the world. ;^) thanks for the call, mrs. alice! it was so nice meeting you. Hey, The American Baha'i magazine did a feature on my traveling musical firesides. Thanks to the Baha'is in Arlington, Houston, Atlanta, Chattanooga, LA, Orange Country, Seattle, Tacoma, DC, and Dallas for hosting my performances in 2010! It was a great year. I do travel for my day job; if you are interested in hosting something if I come to your city, please let me know. I will be coming to Boston, Durham, Atlanta, and Seattle in 2011, and perhaps other cities as well. And anything within driving distance of DC is fair game for a Saturday night or Sunday morning. Message me at www.justkat.com/contact.html.
Hey y'all! I haven't updated this for a while, but I've been busy traveling around, giving house concerts, and playing at local events in the DC area. This week I'm in the Dallas area recording some new material with the help of my good friend and amazing guitarist Andy Sperandeo. I can't wait to share it with you. If you're in the area, you can stop by the Plano Baha'i Center this Saturday night, Jan 1 and hear some of my old standards from "Intone" as well as a few of the new ones we've been working on. The venue is beautiful, the concert is free, and I'll be accompanied by a full band, so this will be great. Hope to see you there! Please invite your friends.
Did you miss this presentation when I delivered it at Arlington prayer station or Tiny Planet? Did you go to one of the previous ones and wish you had brought a certain friend with you? Well, here's your chance to drag yourself out of bed on a Sunday morning and savor it! I'll be giving the presentation again, perhaps with some new twists, at the DC Baha'i Center on March 28 at 11 a.m. and at the Houston Baha'i Center on April 4 at 10:30 a.m. Y'all come! And if you're in a Baha'i community reachable from DC within a 6-hour drive and you're interested in having me give this presentation in your community on a Saturday night or Sunday morning, contact me. I'll consider traveling farther if your community will provide plane fare and lodging. I also travel for work, so if you're interested, go ahead and let me know even if you're not nearby, on the off chance I'll be swinging through your town some time this year. If you've attended one of these presentations previously, I invite you to please post your impressions here in the comments section for the benefit of those considering attending the upcoming program. |
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